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Elizabeth Breznay has cerebral palsy and is restricted to a wheelchair. She has distinguished herself as a community volunteer and takes advanced math classes, a member of the high school band and is learning computer skills to interact with family, classmates and community. Elizabeth is nonverbal, communicating through winks and clicks.cv31brezanyWarren Ruda / The Citizens’ Voice

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In Elizabeth Breznay’s formative years, her parents were unsure if she’d be able to communicate. She couldn’t talk and had limited movement abilities due to cerebral palsy.

But medical professionals who had experience with non-verbal people gave them hope.

“They said, ‘We could see it in her eyes,’” Elizabeth’s mother, Helene Breznay, recalled recently.

Flash forward to middle school and it turns out the predictions were right.

Elizabeth, 14, better known as “Lizzie,” is excelling at Solomon/Plains Junior High School, where she takes regular classes, including an advanced algebra class. So far this year, the eighth grader’s lowest grade in any class is a 92.

Lizzie needs some help to achieve these accomplishments. She still has very limited movement abilities, and is confined to a wheelchair. A home health aide, who has been by her side since age 2, takes notes for her to read. Sometimes she can mouth a single word or phrase at school, like “thank you.”

Occasionally, she can utter full phrases — or sing lyrics to Katy Perry songs — when she’s relaxed at her Plains Township home with her parents.

She may be limited physically, but her mind is healthy and her will to work is strong, those who know her say.

“Can’t is not in our vocabulary — and that’s what I tell her,” Helene Breznay said. “I say, ‘We’re going to do it, but we’re going to do it differently.’”

Lizzie has to do things differently than most. To respond to people, she clicks her tongue off the roof of her mouth for “yes.” She either sticks out her tongue or shakes her head for “no.” At home, her parents say she can write — albeit very slowly — on an iPad if they stabilize her hand and let her guide one of their hands.

Just recently, the school loaned a communication device that Lizzie’s loved ones hope will be a breakthrough in her ability to communicate with people.

The Tobii communication device looks like a touch-screen tablet computer, but it actually follows a user’s eyes to perform functions on the screen.

Lizzie is experimenting with the device while it’s on loan and may eventually get one for her home.

During a recent session, Lizzie used her eyes to type “I am Lizzie” and “I use my eyes to communicate,” phrases the computer then said aloud.

While Lizzie has disabilities, her parents say they have always motivated her to keep trying.

“She always has been interested in learning. Her mind is very sharp,” said Lizzie’s father, Brian Breznay. “We expose her to anything we can possibly think about. We expose her to studies and see if she blossoms. We let her try. She is writing the script and we’re following along. She has the intellect. We are just along for the ride. Anything she wants to do, we are behind 100 percent.”

While she can’t speak to other students, Lizzie has a special way of communicating with her peers, mostly through her gaze and her smile. She likes to be included in school activities as well, like last year when she used her feet to shake bells on cue during a Christmas concert performed by the school band.

Brian Fischer, activities director at the school, said Lizzie is great student, who is well liked by classmates.

“Without question, Lizzie has been a positive influence. She has been a tremendous asset in the school community — her resiliency, her determination, her drive, her ambition. She is goal driven. Students love being with her,” Fischer said. “She epitomizes what we are trying to do in the school community and that is trying to create a good environment for our school students.”

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2055, @cvbobkal

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